WASHINGTON — Barack Obama is enlisting former Senate leader Tom Daschle as his health secretary, embracing a third Washington insider in the early stages of Cabinet-building by the president-elect who promised change.
Hillary Rodham Clinton seemed ever more likely to be his secretary of state. And Obama is poised to announce that his attorney general will be Eric Holder, who was the Justice Department’s No. 2 when Sen. Clinton’s husband was president. Keeping the seating charts straight is Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff and another veteran of the Clinton White House.
It’s still early in the building of an administration by the candidate who built his campaign on promises of change. But so far fresh faces have been few.
Daschle’s position as head the Department of Health and Human Services — confirmed Wednesday but not yet announced — could be more important in an Obama administration than in some others, helping steer the president-elect’s promised health care reforms.
The former South Dakota senator’s return to the government will be a vindication of sorts. He was the Senate Democratic leader when he was defeated in 2004 by Republican John Thune, who persuaded voters back home that Daschle was more concerned with Washington than with them.
In fact, Daschle stayed in the capital city after his defeat, becoming a public-policy adviser and member of the legislative and public policy group at the law and lobbying firm Alston & Bird.
Daschle isn’t registered as a lobbyist. He advises clients on issues including health care, financial services and taxes and trade, according to the firm’s website. Health care interests, including CVS Caremark, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Abbott Laboratories and HealthSouth, are among the firm’s clients.
Daschle’s appointment was not formally announced, but Democratic officials said the job was his barring an unforeseen problem as Obama’s team reviews his background. One area of review will include the lobbying connections of his wife, Linda Hall Daschle, who has worked mostly on behalf of airline-related companies over the years. She was acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in the Clinton administration and is one of Washington’s top lobbyists.
Daschle, who will be 61 next month, was a close adviser to Obama throughout the former Illinois senator’s White House campaign. He recently wrote a book on his proposals to improve health care: “Critical: What We Can Do About The Health Care Crisis.” He also has been working with former Senate leaders on recommendations to expand health coverage.
